Wildwood Police Release Body Camera Footage Of Draconian Beach Arrest

Earlier this week, The Goldwater reported on a violent beach arrest in Cape May County, New Jersey that was captured on video by an onlooker. The video was only 54 seconds and showed only a portion of the situation that led to the young woman's arrest. It is still not clear if the officers were responding to a call or had come in contact with the young woman while patrolling the beach.

20-year-old Emily Weinman can be seen in the video as the officers approach to confront her and a friend about underage drinking. The officer asks both women to take a breathalyzer, but Weinman argues that she did not drink and the alcohol belongs to her aunt. When the officer asks Weinman about the whereabouts of her aunt, she turns to her cell phone in an apparent attempt to contact her. The officer can be heard telling his partner that he is going to have the women our the alcohol out.

Weinman continues to tell the officer it's not illegal to carry a closed container of alcohol which she argues isn't opened, but one of the officers counters by saying she can be charged for an "open display" of the visible alcohol bottle. Weinman didn't help her case by refusing to give her last name to the officers. "Okay, that's it. I'm done with you," the officer says. He then asks his partner for handcuffs. "Don't f—— cuff me," Weinman said. "You're about to get dropped," the officer replies.

The officer then tries to arrest Weinman who begins resisting and trying to push the officer away. He then grabs Weinman's hair and forces her head to the ground as she screams profanities in a vain struggle to escape. At one point in the video, the officer uses closed fists to strike Weinman in the back of the head. "You're not allowed to beat me like that," Weinman yells. "I'm a woman. It doesn't matter…You're not allowed to hit me and choke me like that!"

The ordeal ended with Weinman in handcuffs, and she was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at/on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and minor in possession of alcohol. Weinman's attorney Stephen Dicht said of the new footage, "My perception is the same. My reaction is the same. It's an overreaction to the situation and excessive use of force. If you refuse to give your name, then does that give them the right to pound you in the head?"

A spokesman from the Wildwood police department said, "Chief Regalbuto stated that while he finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation." Weinman has a criminal history of simple assault and criminal mischief, according to court records. She is currently on probation for the simple assault charge in Philadelphia.